Sanitary products



Sept. 4, 1951 H, GANZ SANITARY PRODUCTS Filed March l, 1949 3Sheets-Sheet 2 /3 on Yf/os lNvEN-roR Mew/wf 654ML'.

ATTORNEY Sept. 4, 1951 H, GANZ 2,566,325

SANITARY PRODUCTS Filed March l, 1949 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR MSA/@YGAA/z.

ATTORNEY.

Patented sept. 4, 1951 sammy rnonnc'rs Henry Gans, West Englewood, N.J., assigner to Personal Products Corporation, a corporation ofNewJerleyannahm Marea i, 194s, serial No. 'laces 1o Claim. v(cl. 12s-zw' Thisinvention relates to catamenial pads and is concerned primarily with ofthe disposv able variety.'

Conventional catamenial pads, more popularly called sanitary napkins,consist of oblongpads of absorbent material. In the prior art thesewould either flt loosely, permitting lateral escape of excessivedischarges, or would nt relatively tightly, causing chang and otherdifficulties due to their dense packing, between'the thighs,occasionally making walking diillcult for the wearer. Moreover, thestructure of sanitary napkins of the prior art included no means ofconfining the fluid discharges within certain parts of the napkin. Thefluid would travel erratically. depending upon the amount of ilow andfit of the napkin, and would coagulate and dry all over the surfaces ofthe napkin and frequently in marginal regions thereof, thus causingstil! and rough edges that would rub against the adjacent anatomy,causing intense discomfort, and occasionally chailng and pain.

In the prior art, attempts to direct the flow of the discharge on thenapkin were confined to the interior parts of the napkin. Devicesdesigned to eil'ect this produced little effect as far as direction ofow on the surface of the napkin was concerned and, accordingly, usersnoticed little improvement in napkins with so-called directed flow overordinary napkins. Attempts were also made to conform the cut of thenapkin to the area from which the discharge emanated. This, however, wasapt to produce more discomfort, resulting in a pluglike, stiff padhaving rough edges pressing against intensely sensitive areas.

'I'he principal object of the invention is to provide an improvedcatamenial pad which obviates the disadvantages of prior devices of thischaracter.

A further object of the invention 1s the provision of a catamenlal padwherein any uterine discharges are retained within a central area of thepad. preventing spread of such discharges to the edges thereof. Stillfurther objects are the provision of a catamenlal pad which conformsreadily to the shape of the body and which does not interfere withnormal motions of the body, and of a pad which can be made by massproduction methods and applied readily, using known application -methodsand devices. Other objects will appear from the following description ofthe invention which is concerned mainly with a sanitary napkin ofconventional shape, having a stiffened center that is compressed 'inoutline to conform with the outline of the vuivular regions that itcontacts, softened conforming side portions and having means to increaseabsorption of liquid in said center.

For a more complete understanding of the invention. reference is made tothe drawings constituting part of this specification wherein:

Fig. 1 is a partial view in perspective showing the application of asanitary napkin to the body;

Fig. 2 is a partial, vertical cross section, on an enlarged scalethrough the body. taken at right angles to the front and back along thecenter line of the napkin held in pomtion in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an inverted plan view in section taken on the line 3 3;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing a modiiled form of thenapkin;

Fig. 5 is a front view looking at the side of the napkin that is usedaway from the body, broken away to show a fragment of semirepellentperforated web; v

Fig. 6 is an edge view of the napkin shown in Fig. 5, again broken awaypartially to show the semirepellent perforated web, which in itself isshown more clearly in Fig. 9;-

Fig. 'I is an enlarged vertical sectional view through the pad taken onthe line 1--1 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 8 is a vertical sectional view similar to Fig. 6, but illustratinga modified form of the pad wherein a non-woven fabric is used as theouter wrapper;

Fig. 9 is a face view of the semirepellent perforated web usable in anyof the modifications;

Fig. 10 is a face-view similar to Fig. 5 of a modied pad wherein anon-woven cloth is used as a covering, some parts being broken away;

Fig. l1 is an edge view of Fig. 10, parts being broken away;

Fig. 12 is a diagrammatic, vertical, sectional view taken -along thesame plane as Fig. 13 along line II-II ofFlg. 10; y

Fig. -13 is a diagrammatic, vertical, sectional view taken on the lineI3-i 3 of Fig. 10 showing the narrow end of the embossing with some o!the pad folded under on itself;

Fig. 14 is a view similar to Figs. 7 and 8 showing still another modiedform of the pad.

Fig. l5 is a partial view of the reverse or body side of padillustrating limitation of the flow by the triangular compression.

In accordance with the invention. an oblong catamenial pad Il iscompressed along a substantially closed line. By substantially closedline is meant a line which forms a substantially closed gure inthegeometric sense, thatis, the line, starting at a given point, enclosesan -area of the- 3 pad and returns substantially to its starting point.In the preferred form of the invention, part of this line is based onthe letter V (see forinstance Pigs. 3, 5, and '1) to outline asubstantially triangular shape Il, preferably, conforming in essence tothe sector of a circle. 'I his triangular shape Il exceeds in itsgreatest length the length of the vulvular discharge region andoccupies,

obviates one of the greatest disadvantages of4 prior art napkins. As thefluid is conned within a denite area, there is no spread to borderregions of the pad. As pointed out earlier, settling, gelation anddrying of discharge in the border regions of the pads because of theresultant rough edges, would cause bodily irritation, intensediscomfort, chang and pain in the normal use of the napkin. Thestiiening effected by the compressed part of the pad provides a napkinthat folds in the shape of a natural trough wherein only soft, dryborder sections press against irritable parts (see Figs. l-4). Incommercial production the compression die is lusually applied from oneside or protrudes more deeply into one side than into the other givingdeepest compression on that side. We note that best regulated ilow andbetter conforming of the napkin to the body is attained if the moredeeply compressed side of the pad is kept away from the Theabove-outlined broad concept of the invention may be applied to a widevariety of specie types of napkins. In order to illustrateA theapplication of the invention to such napkins more clearly, several ofthese types of napkin will be discussed more in detail hereafter. InFigs. 5-'1 a napkin Il is shown that has an absorbent center pad sectionI2 composed of loose absorbent fibers such as, for instancealpha-cellulose, or of absorbent matted for woven layer sections. Toincrease absorptive capacity, the absorbent pad may have on the side tobe applied next to the body an absorbent strip Il, e. g. one composed ofhighly abmrbent paper and on the opposite side, and, if desired, also onthe edges, a repellent strip I I, e. g. of paper having a glazedsurface, a repellent treatment, for instance with silicones, or arelatively high amount of The entire sandwich is preferably wrapped in alayer of semirepellent material Ii (best shown in Fig. 9), e. g. paperhaving only a slight amount of rosin size, which is made pervious by pinpoints I6 or other minute openings or means rendering it pervious wheremaximum absorption by the napkin is desired. An obvious function of thepin points vIt is the control of the ilow through the napkin andparticularly into the absorbent center pad section I2. For example, thepin point openings permit prewettin'g of the absorbent center pad beforethe main body of the fluid penetrates the repellent strip andaccordingly facilitate uid penetration into the absorbent padandregulate the rate of flow. To aid in the attachment of the napkin toconventional belts,

clasps or other wearing acssories, the napkin formed as described abovemay be wrappedloosely into an outside wrapper of gauze or other materialIl. This gauze layer is preferably wetted or weakened otherwise beforeAthe compression step to assist in the penetration and folding action ofthe compressing knife. I

After compression in the manner indicated, a napkin ofthe typeillustrated conforms readily to the body without discomfort, is able toabsorb a large amount of fluid discharge without exudation at themargins of the napkin and without hardening of marginal portions, andindeed performs in all respects to satisfaction.

In one embodiment of the invention shown in Fig. 8 the gauze wrapping I1of the sanitary pad is replaced by a layer of soft, non-woven cloth Ilformed by arranging any suitable textile fibers (e. g. cotton or rayon)in a thin web and uniting orY bonding them with adhesive (e. g. based onpolyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl acetate or other polymers), usually atintervals. This product has all the soft and desirable qualities ofgauze but conforms more readily to the compression and holds thecompression line much better throughout the life of the napkin. In allother respects the embodilnent illustrated in Fig. 8 is identical withthe embodiments illustrated and described previously and similarnumerals refer to similar components of the napkin throughout Fig. 8 andsubsequent figures.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figs. 10-13, the semirepellent layerlia is pervious, e. g. by perforations forming a narrow area I9 next tothe body that is penetrated readily by flow. This narrow area. ispreferably near the center of the triangular embossing whereanatomically most flow is to be expected in use. The napkin madeaccording to this modification performs satisfactorily in all respectsand shows even better ow absorption than the napkins described above.

Still another modification is illustrated in Fig. 14. 'In thismodification, which is in other respects similar to the modificationillustrated in Figs. 10-11, layers of absorbent pulpv powder Ita and I2bare confined to the regions near the surface yof the napkin. and fartherinside the napkin there are layers I9 and I9a that are less absorbenttogether with layers 2li, 2la and 2lc of repellent paper. A constructionof this type provides excellent absorption and retention of fluiddischarges without requiring too large an amount of the more expensiveabsorbent ller materials.

In any and all of the modifications of the napkin the spread andabsorption of the fluid discharge F may be controlled by compression toresult in the type of absorption pattern illustrated in Fig. 15. Ifs'uch embossing is used, the center of the napkin, due to thecompression, becomes bridged, preventing acutting and chang action.Compression of the fiber layers, whether they are in pulp or in mattedor woven form, provides definite channel guides to prevent absorption ofyication and/or the appended claims are comprehended within the scopeand spirit of this invention. These various embodiments of the inventionwere described for purposes of illustration rather than limitation. Allvariations and vmodliications of the invention are understood as beingincluded within the scope thereof.

The invention claimed is:

l. A sanitary4 napkin comprising an absorbent pad, divided by a closedline of compression adapted to resist spread of liquid across it, into astiffened center portion adapted to absorb liquid and into softenedconforming side portions protected against spread of liquid by said lineof compression.

2. A sanitary napkin comprising an oblong absorbent pad, divided by asubstantially closed line of compression, substantially in the shape ofa longitudinal letter V spread over most of the body portion of saidpad, and adapted to resist spread of liquid across it, into a stiffenedcenter portion adapted to absorb liquid and into softened conformingside portions protected against spread of liquid by said line ofcompression.

3. A sanitary napkin comprising an absorbent pad, divided by asubstantially closed line of compression, substantially in the shape ofa longitudinal letter V, and adapted to resist spread of liquid acrossit, into a stiil'ened center portion adapted to absorb liquid and intosoftened conforming side portions protected against spread of liquid bysaid line of compression.

4. A sanitary napkin comprising an absorbent pad, divided by asubstantially closed line of compression, substantially in the shape ofa longitudinalletter V, adapted to resist spread of liquid across it,and deeper on one face oi' the napkin than on the other, into a stifenedcenter portion adapted to absorb liquid and into softened conformingportions protected against spread of liquid by said line of compression,said center portion and said side portions being adapted to form in usea trough for the reception of fluid discharges.

5. A sanitary napkin comprising an absorbent pad, divided by a closedline of compression adapted to resist spread of liquid across it, into astiilened center portion adapted to absorb liquid and into softenedconforming side portions protected against spread of liquid by said lineof compression, said napkin having a cover comprising a web of soitnon-woven cloth comprising textile fibers united at intervals byadhesive bonds and adapted to retain said line of compression on thesurface of said napkin.

6. A sanitary napkin comprising an absorbent pad, divided by asubstantially closed line of compression, substantially in the shape ofa longitudinal letter V, adapted to resist spread of liquid across it,and deeper on one face oi' the napkin than on the other, into astiifened center portion adapted to absorb liquid and into softenedconforming portions protected against spread of liquid by said line ofcompression, said center portion and said side portions in use adaptedto form a trough for the reception of fluid discharges, and said napkinhaving a cover comprising a web of soft non-woven cloth comprisingtextile flbers united at intervals by adhesive bonds and adapted toretain said line of compression on the surface of said napkin.

7. A sanitary napkin comprising an absorbent pad, divided by asubstantially closed line of 6 compression, substantially in the shapeof a longitudinal letter V and adapted to resist spread of liquid-acrossit, into a stiifened center portion adapted to absorb liquid and intosoftened conforming side portions protected against spread of liquid bysaid line of compression, said pad having B. least part of its sidesurfaces, and a semirepellent layer covering the remaining surfaces andhaving a pervious area situated centrally so as to increase absorptionof liquid discharges at limited areas, said napkin having a covercomprislng a web of soft non-woven cloth comprising textile fibersunited at intervals by adhesive bonds and adapted to retain said line ofcompression on the surface oi said napkin.

8. A sanitary napkin comprising an absorbent pad having a repellentcovering on one surface and at least part of its side surfaces, asemirepellent layer covering the remaining surfaces and having a rgroupof pin point openings situated centrally so as to increase absorption ofliquid discharges at limited areas, and porous, highly absorbent berlayers below said pin point op'enings, in contact with saidsemi-,repellent layer and with said pin point openings, wherebyprewetting of said fiber layersA is facilitated prior to fullpenetration of the semi-repellent layer by fluid and ow of iiuid intosaid napkin is regulated.

9'. vA sanitary napkin comprising an absorbent pad, divided by asubstantially closed line of compression, substantially in the shape ofa longitudinal letter v and adapted to resist spread of liquid acrossit, intov a stiifened center portion adapted to absorb liquid and intosoftened conforming side portions protected against spread of liquid bysaid line of` compression, said pad having a repellent covering on onesurface and at least part of its side surfaces and a semirepellent layercovering the remaining surfaces and having a pervious area situatedcentrally so as to increase absorption of Aliquid discharges at limitedareas.

10. A sanitary napkin comprising an absorbent pad, divided by asubstantially closed line of compression, substantially in the shape ofa longitudinal letter V and adapted to resist spread of liquid acrossit, into a stiifened center portion adapted to absorb liquid and intosoftened conforming side portions protected against spread of liquid bysaid line of compression, said pad. having a repellent covering on onesurface and at least part of its side surfaces, and a semirepellentlayer covering the remaining surfaces and having a group of minuteperforations situated centrally so as to increase absorption of liquiddischarges at limited areas and porous highly absorbent fiber layersbelow said perforations.

HENRY GANZ.

BEFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,024,976 Mathey et al. Dec. 17,1935 2,069,092 Jackson Jan. 26, 1937 2,294,899 Fourness et al Sept. 8,1942 2,464,640 Fourness Mar. 15, 1949 epellent covering on one surfaceand at eminem of @mmm Patent No. 2,566,325

HENRY Gumz` Septembf 4, 1951 4 It is hereby certified that error appearsin the, printed specification of the above numbered patent requiringcorrection` as follows:

Column 1, line 7, after fit insert mtnher; column 3, line 51, for mattedfor read matted or;

and that the seid'Lettere'Pat-,ent should be read las corrected above,so that the same may conform to the record'of the case in the PatentOce.

Signed and sealed this 11th day o? December, A. D. 1951.

IMJ"

Y THOMAS F. MURPHY,

Assistant 00m/@ism ofPatentc.

